Management reshuffle would take Gottlieb out of Copeland school

Supporters of the administrator voiced strong objections to the
change at a packed Board of Education meeting Wednesday, Jan.
24.

The new addition to the Copeland cafeteria came in handy at the
loud session, as an overflow crowd lined the lunch room and stood
in the new section.

While many people were there to lobby the board against
privatizing its bus service, many teachers were there in support of
Gottlieb, who sat in the front row with the other district
principals around him, for the duration of the meeting.

There has been no public discussion of the administrative
reorganization at school board meetings thus far.

However, several people, including a Copeland teacher armed with
a letter signed by more than 30 people, blasted school officials
for contemplating moving Gottlieb.

"Mr. Gottlieb has helped Rockaway raise many of its children and
has often delighted in the successes of its graduates as they
progressed through their lives," teacher Ruth Melon read from the
letter.

Gottlieb is the district's highest paid employee with a salary
of $120,000, since he has been with the district so long. Unlike
superintendents, who no longer have tenure due to a change in state
law, principals have tenure protection.

"It has been Stephen Gottlieb's daily, steady dedication to his
work and his seriousness of leadership that has forged community
traditions that live in Copeland Middle School," she said, adding
Gottlieb had seen the school through many changes and was needed as
the district enacted more changes at the middle school as a result
of the Copeland 2000 committee's work.

When she concluded, about a third of the audience remained
seated while the rest, mostly teachers, gave Gottlieb a standing
ovation.

Other speakers were more blunt in their comments.

"I am a 30-year teacher in this district and I pre-date Mr.
Gottlieb," said Mrs. Melon's husband, Ira. Calling the board
members "misguided," he noted he had spoken with a couple of them
about the proposed change.

"I think this proposal is ethically corrupt and morally
bankrupt, reprehensible and ignominious," he said, to a round of
applause.

"Where is he going and why?" parent Denise Cacciabeve asked the
board. There was no answer. Board President Robert Morrison had
noted earlier the board members were unable to comment on personnel
matters.

A former district teacher, Scott Rosenberg, told the board he
didn't know who was responsible for the "decision to ask Mr.
Gottlieb to step aside," since the board hadn't discussed it in
public. Therefore, he said, he questioned the motives of every
member, including the superintendent.

"Dr. (Thomas) Parciak, I have a lot of respect for you, but I
question you as well. You have been a finalist for jobs in other
places. This man wants to stay," Rosenberg said.

Addressing the board as a whole, he added, "Good teachers are
leaving this school district because of things that are going on.
It's important to be loyal. This man has done nothing but do right
by this school district for as long as he has been here. He stands
up for what he believes. He has a backbone. I wonder what sort of
backbone some of you have."

Rockaway Township Police Chief Joseph Devine, who watched the
proceedings with his wife, Maureen, criticized the proposed change
after the meeting. The Devines have three children in district
schools, two in Copeland.

"As a parent and as police chief, I credit Mr. Gottlieb with
creating a positive environment in this building that allowed the
police department to come in here in a big way to do programs and
work with children in an age group that is at the greatest risk for
starting to abuse alcohol and drugs," Devine said, "He deserves the
credit for that and nobody else."

The chief also commented on the board's handling of the
issue.

"I don't know what their thinking is, but you lead by example.
By doing this in this fashion, they negatively impact the morale of
every staff member," Devine said.

While Gottlieb did not address the board, after the meeting, he
said he had been informed by Superintendent Thomas Parciak in a
meeting that there was going to be an administrative reorganization
and that he would be moved to the central office to work as
Parciak's assistant.

Gottlieb said he objected to being moved. He said he was then
sent a letter by the board informing him, as required by law, his
role would be discussed in closed session that evening..

"I didn't attend the meeting," Gottlieb said, "I'm going to wait
for them to act, then I'll act."

Prior to being appointed principal at Copeland, Gottlieb worked
as a vice principal and teacher in Piscataway. He also worked in
Perth Amboy and Newark.

While his supporters described Gottlieb in glowing terms, the
fact there have been issues at the middle school "should come as no
surprise to anyone," according to board member Nancy Markowitz, who
refused to comment on Gottlieb or the reorganization plan.

Markowitz, a member of the Copeland 2000 committee, did,
however, point out the changes for the middle school have been in
the works for some time.

Elected to the board last year, Markowitz was a leader of an ad
hoc group of parents known as "Concerned Citizens for Educational
Excellence." As a spokeperson for the group, Markowitz frequently
questioned progress on curriculum changes at Copeland and other
issues related to the middle school.

A few years ago, Board President Robert Morrison, presenting
data he had worked up on his own, noted the test scores of district
students, who are in five different elementary schools before they
all feed into the middle school, were consistently dropping once
they hit Copeland.

As the board has pressed forward with new initiatives, testing
changes and curricula modifications in the past three years in
response to changes in state standards and pressure from parents,
Gottlieb has openly clashed with board members at meetings over
their comments.

For the past year, the discussions had moved out of the board
meetings and into the Copeland 2000 committee, a group made up of
board members, parents, teachers and administrators, seeking to set
goals for making the school "a true middle school," according to
school officials.

Consultants have been brought in to review curriculum, survey
staff, parents and students, and to review operations at the school
as part of the committee's work.

Asked what the board's next action would be, Morrison, who also
refused to make any comments specific to Gottlieb, said the
reorganization plan had been presented to the board by Parciak.

"It's been administrative up to this point," the Morrison said,
but he said he expected the board would take action on it in
February. The board has a conference meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 14,
and a business meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 28.

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